Tetrahydroaminoacridine improves the recency effect in Alzheimer's disease.
We investigated the effects of a single administration of tetrahydroaminoacridine (25 and 50 mg, orally), a cholinesterase inhibitor, on memory function in Alzheimer's disease patients. The recall of memory items from the end of the word list (recency effect) was improved in a subgroup of Alzheimer's disease patients (responders 10 out of 28) by tetrahydroaminoacridine 50 mg. However, tetrahydroaminoacridine 50 mg had no effect on the recall of those words from the beginning or middle of the list. Tetrahydroaminoacridine did not markedly improve non-verbal delayed matching to sample or paired associates learning in any of the Alzheimer's disease patients. The "responders" performed better than the "non-responders" in tests measuring memory and frontal functions. The responders had less severe hippocampal atrophy and less prefrontal blood flow defect, and had a lower frequency of the apolipoprotein E4 allele than the "non-responders". These results suggest that acute tetrahydroaminoacridine treatment may stimulate the recency effect, and that a severe dysfunction of hippocampus and prefrontal regions blocks this effect of tetrahydroaminoacridine on short-term memory performance.
Riekkinen
M
M
Department of Neuroscience and Neurology, University and University Hospital of Kuopio, Finland.
Soininen
H
H
Riekkinen
P
P
Kuikka
J
J
Laakso
M
M
Helkala
E L
EL
Partanen
J
J
Riekkinen
P
P
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E / Q000378:metabolism; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D010275:Parasympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000473:pathology; D013619:Tacrine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D001057:Apolipoproteins E; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; C109063:ethylene dicysteine; D013619:Tacrine; D003545:Cysteine